ETH Zurich Admissions 2026: Requirements, Application Deadlines & Fees

Indian students need to sit for an entrance exam by ETH Zurich for Bachelor courses only. So, if you are high school Diploma holder and applying for the UG programs offered at this institution, you will be required to take the ETH entrance exam. This is an important step and it cannot be skipped. Given below are the two kinds of exams with curriculum –

·       Reduced exam: It covers subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math

·       Comprehensive exam: On top of reduced exam subjects, there are German, History and Geography included in the exam.

Yes, international students who are going for the UG courses are required to speak and understand German language as the main teaching is done in this. The students can't even apply before they submit the proof of German language proficiency which needs to be done by taking tests like TestDaF with a minimum score of 4 in all four sections or Goethe-Zertifikat C1 with at least 80 points.

Yes, it is highly difficult to be a part of ETH Zurich as its acceptance rate revolves around 19 to 25%. The students need more than just good grades to get in as out of every 100 who apply here, only 19 to 25 are given an offer letter. Given below are the ETH Zurich admission requirements for international students –

·       A GPA of 8.8 on a 10.0 scale

·       English and German language proficiency

·       A strong letter of motivation (LOM)

·       GRE score for some programs

·       Good letters of recommendation

Yes, Indian students are eligible for admission to ETH Zurich at UG and PG levels.  

The admission requirements for Indian students at ETH include being academically inclined and meeting the English language requirements (IELTS with 7.0+ and TOEFL with 100+)

For the PG programs at this institution, one must have a bachelor's degree with a good GPA and for PG, Indian students who have completed 12th from CBSE or recognised state boards. 

For the year 2026, international students can apply for ETH Zurich admissions in the application windows for both UG and PG courses. The application window for Autumn intake UG courses opens in the month of December and goes on till March next year. It means applicants can apply right now to this institution.

Look at the admission periods given in the table below –

For both UG and PG courses, international students need to apply via the official portal of the university which is 'eApply' by ETH Zurich. The application window for Autumn intake UG courses opens in the month of December and goes on till March next year. It means applicants can apply right now to this institution.

The students have the options to apply in two intakes which are Autumn and Spring however the Autumn one is the main one.

International students who have a non-Swiss UG degree with them should generally apply in the month of November.

ETH Zurich has strict admission deadlines and no flexibility or provision for late applications. 

All the required admission materials are required to be submitted via the official portal of ETH Zurich. There are no exceptions and late or incomplete applications are not processed at this institution.

Having a relevant PG degree is really important for the ETH Zurich PG application process.

One of the most important requirements includes a UG degree which closely aligns with the target programme and the required subjects.

Indian applicants are expected to have a high GPA of 8.8 on a 10.0 scale to have a competitive edge.

The degree of the applicant should have a min of 180 ECTS credits to be eligible for application.

Yes, to study at ETH Zurich, Indian students need a Type D long stay visa. Students need to apply via the Swiss embassy or VFS global with all the documents and the proof of funds (around CHF 21,000 a year) required. The visa processing takes 8 to 12 weeks.

Given below are the required documents to apply for a Type D long stay visa –

·       A valid passport

·       Valid health insurance

·       Academic documents

·       Motivation letter

·       Proof of funds (INR 23.5 L a year)

·       ETH Zurich admission letter

·       Photos

(CHF 1 = INR 112.27)

For English-taught programs at ETH Zurich, international students would need to submit their English test scores. IELTS can be taken and other than this exam, TOEFL scores can also be submitted. Given below are the minimum scores you would need for the same -

• IELTS: 7 and above 
• TOEFL: 100 and above

Along with an English test score, international students would also require an Entrance test like the GRE with a good score.  

International students need to follow the ETH Zurich admission process to apply. With all the required admission documents like academic transcripts, English or German language proficiency. Look at the whole process given below –

·       Register on eApply

·       Submit all the documents

·       Pay application fee

·       Apply for ETH entrance test if UG student

·       Wait for them to revert

·       Apply for long stay D type visa

As per the ETH Zurich stats on the official site, in total there are 29,198 students attending this institution currently.

They come from around 120 countries. This can be considered a really good number as the Indian students get the global exposure as well as the support of a large international community. 

Indian students generally choose to go for courses in STEM at ETH Zurich. 

As per Shiksha Popularity Rankings, ETH Zurich ranks #10 in the world and #1 in Switzerland. The rankings itsefl show that it is one of the most popular institutions around the world for international students. 

The ETH courses that have taken first place in the Subject rankings are Earth and Marine Science, Geology and Geophysics. As per data, Indian students choose to go for programs in STEM with a great focus on Data and Business analytics. 

The ETH Zurich acceptance rate is 19% and it stays around 20% to 25% for most years generally. This can be considered a really low acceptance and suggests that of every 100 applicants, only 19 to 20 got an offer letter. It is very hard to get admission to ETH Zurich as an Indian student. 

This institution is constantly getting more and more students applying here for admission.

No, it is really difficult to get into ETH Zurich as an international student. The acceptance rate stays around 19% to 25% mostly. The students are be very good and they should also meet the ETH admission requirements. This is a relies that this institution is quite welcoming for international students as 26,198 students from 120 countries are currently studying at ETH Zurich.